


Tension

by mikrochris



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I halted canon because I can, My First AO3 Post, One Shot, Specifically Hermione, i just really love women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:15:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26787295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikrochris/pseuds/mikrochris
Summary: Lina Irvine fucked herself over which accidentally pulled a certain Gryffindor into her mess... or is it the other way around?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	Tension

**Author's Note:**

> Please do not expect much from this. I wrote this in an hour for a friend and I have no idea where it's gonna go or if it's even going anywhere. Put this on here as a split second decision and I'm pretty sure no one's gonna see it anywaysss sooo ENJOY!

This really wasn’t how Lina expected her 5th year in Hogwarts was supposed to go. The dark and damp air circulating down in the dungeons only alleviated the clamminess in her hands, having to wipe her sweaty palms every few seconds. When she finally arrived in front of the dark oak wood housing the Potions classroom, it took her even longer to calm her nerves, slightly crumpling the piece of parchment in her left hand as her right hand trembled in mid-air. She had received the summons after having lunch and barely held in the food from coming back out once she read it. 

“Don’t be a pussy, Lina. You had it coming and now you have to face the consequences. Get your shit together” Cursing under her breath, she let her knuckles graze the door once before knocking twice and announcing her presence. A muffled response is all she heard before the door creaked open, the light dim of the candle-lit room entering her sight. The classroom was empty as classes were already over for the day which left Professor Snape the only occupant, a fact she was grateful for as having her other housemates be in the same premise would not only damage her reputation further but put her up for embarrassment. 

“You summoned for me, Professor?” She walked closer to where Professor Snape was dallying with recently submitted schoolwork, barely giving her a glance before pointing to a folder situated on the edge of his desk, facing Lina. 

The folder was medium length and didn’t seem to be of any significance to her if not for the bold print in the middle, indicating her last name “IRVINE”. Looking up to her Professor once again, he still busied himself with the papers, leaving her to examine the folder on her own. While holding her breath, Lina slowly flipped through the folder, page by page of graded papers were fastened and unfolded. As she reached the last few sections, multiple P’s and D’s greeted her, dealing the final blow as she hastily closed the folder. 

Once she looked back up, her eyes locked onto Professor Snape’s disappointed glare. His frown deepening as he watched her struggle to compose herself. 

“Professor, this is… I can explain! The past few lessons… I just—” 

“You just what, Ms. Irvine? Decided to skip through the subject and hoped for the best?” Snape’s spiteful tone immediately cut off all excuses, leaving Lina to hold her head low in repentance. 

“I expected far too much from someone like you. It seems that the household of Irvine have neglected to raise a competent witch that would hold up to Hogwarts’ standards.” With every word that was thrown her way, Lina could do nothing but clench her fists, digging her nails into her skin, evidently leaving crescent shaped dents. Professor Snape was known for his snide tongue and everyone knew to heed the warning of not angering him less they wanted their dignity shredded. She should have known better and yet here she was, right in the firing range. 

“Truly a shame, Ms. Irvine…. If you so have any plans to actually try and move up from this grade, refer to the last page. A list of paperwork and scheduled make-up exams are written.” 

One could swear her head would have snapped off with how quick she turned to him; a sudden dizzying sensation came onto her temples but the surprise seemed to subdue it as she stumbled over her words. 

“Ha— What... Are you...? Are you serious, Professor?” 

“Do I look like one to jest, Ms. Irvine? Tell me now if you are incapable and I will withdraw my proposal.”

“No! I… I mean yes, Professor. I give you my word that I can…that I will do everything to hold myself up to the expectations brought unto me. Thank you, Professor. I apologize for the trouble.” 

Grabbing the folder, Snape unfastened the page where the list was written and passed it onto her. He gave her one last nod before waving her off. 

Lina held onto the paper with both hands as she bowed to pay her respects and gratefulness, leaving the classroom on a much brighter note than she expected. 

The moment the door behind her was closed, a movement from the end of the hallway was caught in her peripheral. Without a second of hesitation, she chased after the figure and easily found whoever was snooping around the dungeons so late in the afternoon. As the figure continued to run, Lina raised up her wand and hastily casted a spell that paralyzes the victim. 

“Petrificus Totalus!” 

The figure immediately stopped on its feet, their limbs freezing up as they fell to the floor with a clear thud. Light groaning could be heard from the body as she walked closer to them. Within the distance, Lina could make up the unruly, curled long hair of a brunette from a certain trio she usually avoided. 

“Granger.” Her voice wavered a bit in surprise before she was met with a fierce glare. Clearing her throat, Lina casted the counter and kneeled beside Hermione, putting a hand to her shoulder to help her up. 

Hermione was quick to slap her hand away, choosing to use the wall as support while her body regained its feeling. 

“What in the bloody hell was that for?! You could have seriously injured me! What if my head was hit in a way that could have dealt more damage?” 

Lina’s mouth hangs open as Hermione went on and on with reprimanding her for such dangerous spells. Letting the girl speak her anger out, she looked around the hallway to make sure no one else was there, satisfied to see they were alone. She snapped her fingers to gain Hermione’s attention and stop her ramblings. 

“You’re going to burst my eardrums with all that yelling, Granger.” Ignoring Hermione’s glare, she continued on.

“Before we get off topic even more, mind explaining first why you were eavesdropping earlier? What did you hear?” Narrowing her eyes, Lina watched as Hermione’s glare was slowly replaced by caution. 

“What? What are you talking about? I was merely passing by before you suddenly decided to chase me like a barbarian” 

“Don’t play with me, Mudblood.” Grabbing Hermione by her arm, she tightened her hold and pulled her closer. Staring down her almond shaped eyes, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that noticed how they seemed to glow under the orange tint of light. 

Hermione winced from the slight pain but refused to relent under her glare. She stood up taller and glared back, pulling her arm back forcefully from Lina’s grasp.

“Getting so worked up over knowing someone overheard the news of your failing grades, Irvine?” Hermione spat back. If Lina was making this personal, the brunette wasn’t too above using underhanded means as well. 

“Afraid I’m going to expose what I heard to everyone? That little miss pureblood is failing her classes? Is that what you want to hear?” 

Lina gritted her teeth in anger, barely holding herself back from hexing the other girl. Taking a deep breath, she moved back from her and heaved a sigh. She needed to calm down, she couldn’t afford to cause trouble now, especially when she’s supposed to be trying hard to get her grades back up. 

“I stepped out of line. I apologize for hitting you with a spell earlier. My reflexes responded far too fast for me to stop myself.” 

Hermione still looked at her with caution but decided to calm down as well. 

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop; I was just passing by the dungeons when I came upon the classroom door. I got curious and yeah… my bad” 

The tense aura surrounding them earlier seemed to dissipate into thin air, leaving an awkward silence between the two of them. 

“So, you’re having a hard time with Potions?”  
Leaning back onto the wall, Lina brought up her fingers to rub her temples, the foregone headache earlier coming back as the situation all seemed to dawn upon her now. 

“Yeah… It... hasn’t been going well. It’s not that I don’t try, I just can’t seem to understand the recent lessons and concepts.” Groaning, she didn’t know why she was being honest with the Gryffindor nerd but the stress of it all must have loosened her tongue. 

In all the years that Hermione has been in Hogwarts, her encounters with this specific Slytherin can be counted within both hands, only having seen her in classes and the great hall. During all those times, she recalled the look of haughtiness and pride that all Slytherins seemed to have. But now, the girl in front of her looked so drained and an inkling of sympathy bubbled up in her chest. Hermione felt like she was being bamboozled and half-expected the other Slytherins to just pop out the corner to laugh at her for actually feeling bad for one of them. Thankfully, that didn’t seem to be the case as they were still very much alone in the hallway. 

Just then, a sudden idea popped up in her mind, one that would possibly backfire if she didn’t thread carefully. 

“You know… Professor Snape hasn’t always been the most accommodating to Gryffindors, often finding flaws to every thing we do and If I recall, he’s also not one to give second chances often so I’m guessing he must really hold you to a high regard compared to the other students.”

Lina creased her forehead in confusion, nodding her head to Hermione’s statement but not catching on to what she was getting at. 

“And? What are you insinuating?” 

“I’m saying, if we work together, not only can I help you with whatever you’re having a hard time with but you can also boost up my morale with Professor Snape and maybe then he wouldn’t be so condescending towards us Gryffindors all the time.”

“Basically, you want me to pass on good words to Professor Snape for you in exchange to tutoring me? You do know this will stir up the other houses, seeing the two of us together” 

“Don’t think too much into it, It’s a win-win situation for us both. Unless, you want me to go ahead with spreading the news of your grades?” 

To say Lina was surprised would be an understatement, she would never have thought the Gryffindor to be this cunning. A complete opposite to the suffocating, rule abiding know-it-all she came to think of her as. 

“Is that a threat, Granger?” 

With a smug smile on her face, Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised her eyebrow in question.

“So, what will it be? Your choice.” 

Lina let out a scoff of disbelief before shaking her head in amusement. Truly different than what she conceived the other girl to be. 

“You make a convincing bargain, Granger.” Leaning away from the wall, she bent closer to Hermione’s ear, the scent of parchment and lavender wafted into her nose. 

“Great Hall, after class tomorrow. Meet me there” Pulling back from the startled girl, Lina turned around and went on her way, pushing the thoughts of how Hermione looked quite adorable stunted. This year might not be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> don't know what happened there but aight


End file.
